Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on Feb 7, 2024. (PHOTO / JINI VIA XINHUA)

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas's proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

"Caving in to the delusional demands of Hamas will result in another massacre," said Netanyahu at a press conference.

Netanyahu's remarks came hours after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, presented a set of terms in response to a ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar.

READ MORE: Israel resumes attacks in N. Gaza despite calls for ceasefire

It included the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the reconstruction of Gaza, which has been devastated by the Israeli strikes. Hamas also seeks a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the ongoing war, proposing a ceasefire plan consisting of three phases, each lasting 45 days.

We instructed the IDF, which is now in Khan Younis, the last stronghold of Hamas, to prepare to operate in Rafah as well.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Israel

Netanyahu repeated his stance that Israel will continue the war until "a total victory" over Hamas. "Tonight, I came to tell you one thing: We are on the way to a total victory. Victory is within reach. It's not a matter of years but of months.”

According to the Israeli prime minister, since Oct 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces killed or wounded 20,000 militants in Gaza, which constitute "more than half of the Hamas forces".

The Israel-Hamas conflict has so far claimed the lives of 27,708 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Wednesday.

"We instructed the IDF, which is now in Khan Younis, the last stronghold of Hamas, to prepare to operate in Rafah as well," said the Israeli PM.

Rafah is Gaza's southernmost city, a zone previously designated as a safe zone by the Israeli army and to which more than half of Gaza's over 2 million population had fled.

Netanyahu said he had told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during their meeting in Jerusalem earlier on Wednesday, that after Hamas is "eliminated," Gaza should be demilitarized to ensure it will not pose a security threat to Israel. 

"It means that Israel will stay in Gaza," he said.

READ MORE: Netanyahu cautious on hostage deal amid coalition rifts

Netanyahu also repeated his call to close the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Last week, Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of taking part in a fierce onslaught by Hamas on southern Israeli communities on Oct 7, 2023, leading to at least 17 countries suspending UNRWA funding.

Blinken, who landed in Israel on Wednesday in his fifth trip to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, said further efforts are needed on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but expressed optimism such a deal can be achieved.

Qatar reportedly mediated a gradual agreement whereby Israel would halt military operations in exchange for the release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian detainees from Israel.

"We're looking at it intensely, as is, I know, the government of Israel," said Blinken in joint statements alongside Israel's President Isaac Herzog.

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"There's a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted," he added.

He also reiterated his call for Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip.

Raising warnings from the United Nations about an impending famine, he said: “We all have an obligation to do everything possible to get the necessary assistance to those who so desperately need it, and the steps that are being taken, additional steps that need to be taken, are the focus of my meetings here.”